world domination gardening workshop March 21-23, 2014

Pictures of some of the clay were pulling out of the ditch and Zach hard at work.

Nice, Is this high or low on the property?

Paul answers questions & gives a talk on tefa & growing lemon trees outdoors in Montana. Sun scoops, using water & rock as thermal mass & mulch are some if the tricks discussed.

Fomes fomentarius

Found while creating the sun scoop

Miles Flansburg wrote:Nice, Is this high or low on the property?

It's relatively low - in the main draw where there used to be a creek. There are lower areas, I think.

Wow! Thanks so much for keeping us updated.
Great job!!!

The duke hard at work!

After lunch Paul revisits the pond project & talks with Zach about whether or not the water that was found was "The Flow" from the creek or if it's just seasonal Springtime flow. The decide to take a look further "up stream" before makeing any decisions on how to move forward.

Thanks so much for the summary notes and great photos!

The steam is found & followed back until the sublimation point is found. Poor logging practices are believed by some to be a major contributor to the loss of flow.

Ella found a whitetail shead on her way back from "the source" which was really nice but in this state are illigal to keep. Paul & Zach disscuss what was found & Zach is instructed to find "The Flow".

Pre breakfast meeting with Zach & Paul. The discuss what was found during yesterday's dig. Zach said he found a clay layer even deeper then the previous layer that was 15' thick! Under that he found sharp rock which tells him he is coming close to bedrock. Options are weighed but in the end Paul decides to take the gamble & continue searching for "The Flow".

Paul talks to the group & explains his desicion to keep digging. The talk continues by the sun scoop & the topic expands to include plants in addition to lemon trees that will be planted there.

Construction on the sun scoop continues as material is layered on.

And on...

And on.

Zach stops by before lunch to update Paul about the pond project. We break for lunch & Taylor asks his Kickstarter rewards question. Paul gives his thoughts on how to create a pond in sandy soils

Zach gives some quick instruction on how to set up & use his laser level which we will use during the construction of the swale.

Pictures of the future pond site the depth of the hole & it's progress.

Philip Durso wrote:Ella found a whitetail shead on her way back from "the source" which was really nice but in this state are illigal to keep. Paul & Zach disscuss what was found & Zach is instructed to find "The Flow".

Actually, natural sheds are completely legal to pick up and keep in Montana. The only restriction I know of is harvesting of antlers from a dead animal that you did not shoot and tag in season. If Ella found that shed lying on the ground then it is legal for her to keep it. Shed hunting has quite the following here in Montana. Many WMAs, where elk and deer have their winter range, will open for spring access and many folks will literally run the ground to find some nice sheds. Some buddies of mine go east of the mountains in the spring to do this in the areas they like to hunt in the fall.

Bill Erickson wrote:Actually, natural sheds are completely legal to pick up and keep in Montana. The only restriction I know of is harvesting of antlers from a dead animal that you did not shoot and tag in season. If Ella found that shed lying on the ground then it is legal for her to keep it.

Good to know Bill. Thanks for the info. I'd like to pass it along to clear up any confusion. Any idea who the governing body would be so I can site the source?

Turns are taken using the big excavator by the workshop guests at the pond site. It's a much bigger machine but the controls are the same so the learning curve was minimized.

The site for the swale is picked, the laser level is set up & Paul gives a quick talk on the what a swale is & it's purpose in any good earthwork design.

The Duke truly in his own element building a swale.

Final questions are answered & goodbyes are said as Paul lovingly kicks us off his Lab.

Thanks for coming everybody!

Now go. . . shoo!

I need to go sleep for three days. . .

It's so great to see all these pics! THREE CHEERS!

Philip Durso wrote:Good to know Bill. Thanks for the info. I'd like to pass it along to clear up any confusion. Any idea who the governing body would be so I can site the source?

Philip, sorry that I didn't cite a source for my information - but the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agency is the one that promulgates regulations and such regarding wildlife. The only flat out statement I have is from a Montana Outdoors Article from 2006. Here is the part that covers this:

Technically, sheds are not considered wildlife, so state and federal agencies have no jurisdiction over their harvest or sale. But they can control access to some public lands where wintering deer and elk concentrate. Though national forests are open year-round to shed hunting, national parks do not allow collecting at any time. And to protect elk during their vulnerable period, FWP prohibits access to the Blackfoot-Clearwater, Beartooth, and several other big game wildlife management areas until May 15. Sun River opens at noon that day; the others open at midnight. (However, FWP opens a few WMAs near Yellowstone National Park on May 1 to move elk off the winter range, where they can overgraze forage, and back into the the park.)

Those dates for access have changed over time, and it is up to the individual when going into those areas to contact FWP to verify when they are open. Some states do regulate the picking up of shed antlers, and in a revision to my earlier statement, the antlers, skulls and bones of animals can be harvested if they are dead of natural causes (predation, winter kill, etc.). More detail could probably be had from a local game warden who will likely blink his eyes and say, "Go ahead." I also looked in the Montana Code Annotated (the laws of the state of Montana) and found no restrictions on found sheds and skulls, it does clearly state that poached animals are not a natural death. I know that is pretty much clear as mud, it's just that here in Montana it is pretty much, if the law (local, county and state) doesn't say you can't, then you can.